Racquetball (IRF) — Official Rules

Racquetball is played by two or four players. When played by two it is called singles; when played by four it is called doubles. A non-tournament variation played by three players is called cutthroat. The game is a competitive contest in which a strung racquet is used to serve and return the ball.

The objective is to win each rally by serving or returning the ball so the opponent is unable to keep it in play. A rally ends when a player (or team in doubles) is unable to hit the ball before it touches the floor twice, is unable to return the ball so that it reaches the front wall before touching the floor, or when a hinder is called.

Under rally scoring, points are scored by either the serving or the receiving side. Losing the service in singles is called a side-out. In doubles, when the first server loses service it is a handout (and the receivers earn a point); when the second server loses service it is a side-out.

A match is won by the first player or team winning three games out of five (best-of-five). All games, including the tiebreaker, are played to 11 points. A game is won only when a player or team wins by 2 points; there is no upper limit to the number of points that may be scored in a game.

The standard four-wall racquetball court is 20 feet wide, 40 feet long and 20 feet high, with a ceiling. The back wall must be a minimum of 12 feet high. All surfaces are in play except any gallery opening, any back-wall surface above the 12-foot line, surfaces designated out-of-play for a valid reason, and designated court hinders.

Lines are 1 to 1½ inches wide. The back edge of the short line is midway between the front and back walls (20 feet from each). The front edge of the service line is 5 feet in front of the short line, defining the service zone (a 5 ft x 20 ft area). Service boxes sit at each end of the service zone, their inner edge 18 inches from the side wall. Drive serve lines are 3 feet from each side wall within the service zone. The receiving line is a broken line 5 feet behind the short line.

The safety zone is the 5 ft x 20 ft area bounded by the back edges of the short line and the receiving line; it is observed only during the serve, and the receiver may not enter it until the ball bounces or crosses the receiving line. The out-of-court line is on the back wall, parallel with and 12 feet above the floor.

The standard racquetball is 2¼ inches in diameter, weighs approximately 1.4 ounces, has a hardness of 55-60 durometers, and bounces 68-72 inches from a 100-inch drop at a temperature of 70-74 degrees Fahrenheit. The official ball is any ball endorsed by the IRF.

The racquet, including the bumper guard and all solid parts of the handle (including the grip), may not exceed 22 inches in length; no additional tolerance is permitted. The frame may be of any material judged safe by the IRF, and must include a wrist safety cord that stays secured around the wrist at all times during play and warm-up. Strings must be gut, monofilament, nylon, graphite, plastic or a combination, and must not mark the ball. Using an illegal racquet, or not securing the wrist cord, is penalised by a referee technical (a second cord offense brings disqualification).

All players in an IRF-sanctioned event are required to wear lensed eyewear manufactured for racquet sports (except prescription non-breakable protective lenses). Eyewear must be worn properly and not altered. Acceptable eyewear must be worn during play and during warm-up once summoned to the court; a referee technical is issued for a first offense and disqualification for a second offense.

The server has two opportunities to put the ball into play in all divisions. The player or team winning the coin toss chooses to serve or receive in game one; game two begins in reverse order, and games three and four alternate accordingly. The player or team that has accumulated the most points chooses whether to serve the tiebreaker (a tie triggers another coin toss).

The service motion must begin in the service zone; the server may not start the pre-service motion from outside it. After the ball leaves the hand it must bounce on the floor within the service zone and then be struck by the racquet before it bounces a second time. After being struck, the ball must hit the front wall first and, on the rebound, land beyond the back edge of the short line, with or without touching one side wall.

The drive service lines are 3 feet from each side wall, dividing the service area into a 3-foot and a 17-foot section for drive serves. A player may drive serve toward the near side wall only if the player starts and remains outside the 3-foot drive service zone. The drive service zones are not observed for crosscourt drives, hard or soft Z serves, or lob and half-lob serves. Failing to observe the 17-foot drive zone is an illegal drive serve (a fault).

There are three types of defective serve: a dead-ball serve (no penalty; the server is given another serve without cancelling any prior fault), a fault serve (players get 2 serves; two consecutive faults cause a handout or side-out), and an out serve (immediate handout or side-out).

Fault serves (any two in succession is an out) include: foot faults (not starting with both feet in the service zone, or stepping completely over the service line before the ball crosses the short line); short serve (rebounds to the floor on or in front of the short line); three-wall serve (strikes both side walls before the floor); ceiling serve (touches the ceiling after the front wall); long serve (carries to the back wall before the floor); bouncing the ball outside the service zone; illegal drive serve; screen serve (passes so close to the server it blocks the receiver's view); and serving before the receiver is ready.

An immediate out results from, among others: failure to serve within the 10-second limit (one warning per match, then a referee technical for delay); a missed serve attempt; a touched serve (rebound touches the server or racquet before the floor); a fake or balk serve; an illegal hit (double contact, hitting with the handle or body, or serving without first bouncing the ball); a non-front-wall serve; and a crotch serve that hits the junction of the front wall with the floor, a side wall or the ceiling.

A court hinder on the serve (an irregular bounce off a wet spot, irregular surface, or a designated obstruction) and a broken ball are dead-ball serves: the serve is replayed with no penalty and without cancelling any previous fault serve.

The receiver may not enter the safety zone until the ball bounces or crosses the receiving line. On a fly return, the receiver may not strike the ball until it breaks the plane of the receiving line. After a legal serve the receiver must strike the ball on the fly or after the first bounce but before the second bounce; the return may reach the front wall directly or via the side walls, back wall (below the out-of-court line) or ceiling, but must touch the front wall before the floor. Failure to return the serve scores a point for the server.

Only the head of the racquet may be used to return the ball; it may be held in one or two hands. The ball may be touched only once per attempt (a double hit is illegal). Switching hands during a rally, touching the ball with the body or uniform, or removing the wrist cord loses the rally. The ball remains in play until it bounces on the floor a second time, regardless of how many walls it touches. If a player swings and misses, they may keep trying until the second bounce.

A failure to make a legal return occurs when, among others: the ball bounces twice before being hit; the ball does not reach the front wall on the fly; a ball that obviously lacks the velocity or direction to reach the front wall strikes another player; or a player hits themselves or their partner. The losing of a rally by the serving side is an out (a point for the receiver under rally scoring); the losing of a rally by the receiving side is a point for the server. Whenever a rally is replayed, the server resumes at first serve.

A dead-ball hinder causes the rally to be replayed without penalty, with the server resuming at first serve. Situations include: court hinders; the ball striking an opponent in flight (unless it lacked velocity/direction to reach the front wall, in which case the striker loses the rally); body contact that stops the rally or prevents a reasonable return; a backswing hinder; a safety holdup; and other unintentional interference that prevents a fair chance to see or play the ball. It is the defensive side's responsibility to move so the receiving side can move straight to the ball with an unobstructed view.

An avoidable hinder results in loss of the rally and a point to the opponent; it need not be intentional. Examples include: failure to move to allow the opponent a straight or crosscourt shot; stroke interference; blocking; moving into the ball; pushing; intentional distractions (shouting, stamping, waving the racquet); view obstruction; wetting the ball; and equipment interference (losing eyewear or dislodging the wrist cord is an automatic avoidable hinder).

During a game, each player (singles) or each side (doubles), whether serving or receiving, may request a time-out. Each time-out may not exceed 60 seconds, and no more than one time-out is allowed per game. The 10-second rule applies jointly to server and receiver: collectively they have up to 10 seconds after the score is called to serve or be ready to receive.

An injured player is allowed a cumulative total of up to 15 minutes per match (external bleeding must be stopped, up to 15 minutes); cramps and fatigue not caused by contact do not qualify. Equipment time-outs allow 2 minutes to replace a garment and 30 seconds to replace or adjust equipment. A 2-minute rest period is allowed between all games.

The referee may deduct one point from a player/team score for overly and deliberately abusive conduct (a referee technical). Examples include profanity, excessive arguing, threats, excessive or hard striking of the ball between rallies, slamming the racquet, actions risking damage or injury, delay of game, and failure to wear proper eyewear or the wrist safety cord. If the offending side does not resume play immediately, the referee may forfeit the match to the opponent.

If behavior is not severe enough for a referee technical, a technical warning is issued with no point deduction. A referee technical deducts one point; if issued when the offender has no points or between games, the score becomes minus one (-1). Three referee technicals result in disqualification from the match. A referee technical or warning has no effect on who serves when play resumes, and is not appealable.

Each team informs the referee of its order of service, which must be followed all game (it may be changed between games once notified). At the start of each game, when the first server of the first serving team is out, the team is out; thereafter both players serve until the team takes a handout and a side-out. On each serve the server's partner must stand erect, back to the side wall, both feet inside the doubles box, from when the service motion begins until the ball is struck. Serving out of order subtracts that server's points and is called as an out.

IRF tournaments are managed by a Tournament Director who designates the officiating team (referee, optional line judges, scorekeeper). The referee makes all rules decisions; if both players in singles, or three of four in doubles, disagree with a call, the referee is over-ruled. Referee technicals and match forfeitures are not appealable. Two line judges may decide appealed rulings (thumbs up = agree, thumbs down = disagree, palm down = no opinion); both disagreeing over-rules the referee, and split no-opinion outcomes are governed by Rule 5.6.

In matches using line judges, all calls are appealable except referee technicals and match forfeitures. A player may appeal only their own or the opponent's previous shot/strike/event, before leaving the court and before the next serve. If the referee's call is overruled the appealing side wins the point with no appeal charged; if the call stands, one appeal is charged. Each player is allowed a maximum of two 'not accepted' appeals per game. Video Review Assistance (VRA) may replace line judges at the Tournament Director's discretion, but the final decision rests with the referee.

In multi-bounce, the ball stays in play as long as it is bouncing (one swing only; dead when it begins to roll); the blast rule and front-wall 3-foot/1-foot lines govern how many bounces are allowed, and all games are to 11 with the first to win 2 games taking the match. In wheelchair racquetball, two bounces are permitted but not mandatory; all four wheels equal a player's feet ('wheel fault'); every shot must begin from a seated position with the buttocks in contact with the chair; and each player gets up to two 5-minute maintenance delays per match.

The defining modern changes carried into the 2024-2026 edition are: rally scoring with matches now best-of-five (2022), with all games—including the tiebreaker—played to 11 points, win by 2, and game/match point achievable as a receiver. Appeals were limited to a maximum of two 'not accepted' appeals per game and time-outs to one per game. In 2024 the rules confirmed all games to 11, rewrote the service-motion definition, clarified that a dead-ball serve carries no penalty, instructed referees to wait before calling a screen serve, classified serving without a bounce as an illegal hit, required coaches to remain seated during games, and added Video Review Assistance (VRA).